Drawer lock bit plywood tear out

This is my first posting so forgive me is this is the wrong place to post. I plan to build some drawers from 1/2” BB plywood. I have one of the 2” diameter drawer lock bits from a reputable company. I quickly realized the drawer sides are routed across the surface ply grain and creates a lot of tear out. Before attempting this I watched several videos and read reviews. I don’t recall anyone addressing or having the tear out problem. Am I doing something wrong. This looks like it has to be a common problem with limited solutions. Scoring with an X-acto knife seems like a viable solution with some careful measurements. I have to believe there is got to be a better way. Thanks for any input.

I have a good push block, kind of an off set L shape. I saw this being used on a Shop Notes video. I’m also using feather boards to hold it tight against the fence. My fence is a two piece split design. So here is a novice question. I can picture a sacrificial fence being used to create a zero clearance. But its not clear to me on how one makes the router bit profile cut into the fence. Do you do this with the router bit spinning and ease the fence back toward the bit? I’ve seen people make a zero clearance table saw insert, but not one for a router bit.

I experience less tear out when cutting plywood with the face grain as opposed to across the grain. Therefore, there may be less tear out routing the locking mitred joints if the draw box sides are oriented so that the plywood face grain of the finished boxes runs vertically, rather than horizontally. Of course the finished drawer boxes would look different from most drawer boxes that I have seen. Also, if you plan to rout a slight round over along the top edges of the drawer box, you would back to dealing with tear out.

You are right that scoring the edge before routing will help a lot. But rather than using a knife and a straightedge, using a cutting gauge makes it easier to quickly cut at a set distance from the edge. And it’s a useful tool for other woodworking tasks.